Free CV Templates—Download & Start Making Your CV

Cut to the chase—

We’ve scoured the Internet to bring you the best, most accessible, and really free CV templates.

Plus, we’ll show you how to use some of the best online template editing tools, and where to find even more CV templates.

So, let’s jump right in.

In this guide:

• A gallery of free CV templates from a variety of sources.
• Instructions on how to use these templates and where to find more.
• Pros and cons of using free templates for a CV from each of these sources.

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Jump right to the free templates you’re looking for:

• MS Word
• Google Docs
• Canva
• Good-CV

1. Free CV Templates: Word

Microsoft Word is easily one of the most (if not the most) popular word processors out there.

In fact, the latest survey from Spiceworks shows that an overwhelming 82% of companies use an on-premises version of MS Office, and 53% of companies use the cloud-based version of MS Office suite.

So—

Chances are that free CV templates for Word are just the thing you’re looking for.

What are the pros of free Word CV templates?

They’re super accessible.

The only thing you need to do is launch the latest version of MS Word, click on New, and either type in “CVs and cover letters” in the search box, or click on the search suggestions.

And—

As you can see, there’s quite a number of free CV templates for MS Word available directly in MS Word itself:

All you need to do is find a free CV template you like, click on it, and start editing.

The cons?

Sometimes the formatting gets a little tricky, so it’s best to find a template where the content length is more or less similar to what you want to include in your CV. 

Here’s a couple of examples of free CV templates for Word you can find inside MS Word itself:

Free Creative CV Template by Moo

This free creative CV template comes from the design company Moo.

It combines subtle graphical elements with modern CV fonts and a reader-friendly CV layout.

It’s a perfect CV template for a graphic- and art-related CVs. 

If you like this template, you don’t have to look for it, just click here and download it for free.

Free Modern CV Template for Word

This free modern CV template works great for more experienced job seekers.

It offers quite a lot of space for your professional experience CV section.

Also, it allows you to display your CV skills on a nice graphical scale that quickly shows how proficient you are.

Here’s a link to the template’s download page.

Modern & Attractive CV Template for Word

This modern and attractive CV template uses an eye-catching combination of colours, graphical elements, and fonts to stand out from the crowd.

The CV header draws the reader’s attention to your name and job title. You’ve got plenty of space for your CV profile statement, and your skills are extra visible thanks to the use of bullet points and green font.

You can quickly download it from here, and start outlining your CV right away.

Expert Hint: Remember, it’s never enough to simply find a free CV template, you must know how to write a job-winning CV.

Now—

If you want to explore more free CV templates for Microsoft Word, go to the official MS Office template gallery. Or see our selection of the best free CV templates for Microsoft Word.

Once there, select the CVs and cover letters category, and start exploring.

When you find a template you like, download it and start editing.

OK—

All’s fine and dandy if you have your MS Office subscription or an on-premises version of MS Word.

But what if you don’t?

Well, here’s the good news:

You can use MS Word entirely free of charge.

And no.

There’s no need to subscribe to any premium service.

The only thing you will need is a free OneDrive account, and access to the Internet. 

Here’s how to use free CV templates for Word in combination with a free online version of MS Word:

1. Create a free Microsoft OneDrive account (Already have an account? Just sign in here.)

1. Click on the app launcher icon in the top left corner.

2. Launch Word. 

3. Scroll down to the very bottom, and click on See More Templates.

4. Click on Browse by Category.

5. Select CVs and Cover Letters, and find a free CV template you like.

6. Click on Edit in Browser.

7. Save the template to your OneDrive.

8. Edit the free CV template.

9. When you’re done, click on File and choose Save As.

10. Download your CV.

Expert Hint: Not sure whether to send your CV as PDF or DOC, our in-depth guide has all the answers you need.

2. Free CV Templates: Google Docs

Here’s the thing:

Gmail had over 1.8 billion monthly active users in 2022, all of whom have free access to Google office suite.

In other words:

You could be very much interested in using free Google Docs CV templates.

So—

What are the pros of using free Google Docs CV templates?

They’re easy to access, and you can start writing your CV immediately.

The problem is there are only 5 of them available via Google Docs, and they don’t stand out visually in comparison to what you can find online.

That being said— 

Here comes a selection of our favourite built-in free Google Docs CV templates:

Free CV Template for Google Docs: Modern Writer

This simple free CV template is an embodiment of minimalism. It’s divided into four main CV sections.

Thanks to the use of different fonts and colours, it's super easy to scan, which is particularly important as the recruiter will only spend 7 seconds initially scanning your CV.

Free Google CV Template: Serif

This free one-page CV template uses a two-column layout, thanks to which you can include quite a lot of information without making your CV look cluttered.

Remember: you can change the section order and put education on your CV first thus making this free CV template suitable for an entry-level CV, too.

Each section can be quickly identified and the entire CV is very reader-friendly and scannable.

Expert Hint: Your CV shouldn’t be too long or too short. Find out what the perfect length of a CV is.

Free Google Doc CV Template: Swiss

This free CV template for Google Docs is straightforward and clean.

Each section is separated from the surrounding ones with a horizontal line, which makes it very easy for the reader to find what they’re looking for.

Even though the skills section comes up top, you may want to simply replace it with a career summary or professional objective and list your skills somewhere closer to the bottom of the document.

Now—

How to access these free CV templates in Google Docs?

Well, since you’re already here, just follow this link. It will take you directly to the official free Google Docs template gallery.

All you need to do is scroll down until you see the section with CV templates:

Simply click on the CV you like and start editing.

Once you finish writing your CV, you can download it by clicking File > Download.

Expert Hint: If you find writing your CV challenging, we have a selection of 50+ CV writing guides for various occupations. Find one just for you.

Bonus: Beautiful CV Template for Free for Google Docs

Listen—

Even though there is a plethora of free Google Docs CV templates out there, most of them are of substandard quality, to say the least.

That’s why we found this gem of a free CV template just for you.

It’s available for free on Behance, and comes bundled with a cover letter template. By the way, we have a great cover letter writing guide you may want to take a look at.

You can download the free CV template from here.

3. CV Templates: Free Designs From Canva

Canva is a simple graphic-design website that comes packed with a free editor.

As you can guess, Canva has myriad templates for just about any visual project you can imagine.

This obviously includes free CV templates.

What are the pros of using Canva?

Access to, dare I say, thousands of free CV templates.

The cons?

Not all CV templates available in Canva are free. Plus, quite a number of them may not be fully compatible with Applicant Tracking System (ATS) software.

And you need to know that 98% of Fortune 500 companies rely on ATSs to initially screen CVs.

What does this mean in practise?

It means that your CV could be unreadable to the system that scores CVs before they reach a human reader. And that’s a bummer.

So if you decide to use a free CV template from Canva, make sure you send your CV directly to the recruiter’s inbox to bypass the ATS screening stage.

Here’s a couple of examples of what templates you can find in Canva:

Free Professional CV Template from Canva

This free professional CV template combines minimalism with top-notch graphic design.

It’s super readable and crisp.

Great for those who already have some professional experience under the belt, and would like to show it off in the form of elegant bullet points.

If you find this free CV template to your liking, you can find it right here.

Expert Hint: Before you send it to the recruiter, check out our CV tips and tricks to make sure you’ve got everything right.

Simple CV Template for Free from Canva

This free CV template from Canva could work great for experienced and inexperienced candidates alike.

It makes great use of its two-column layout. The section on the left is great for less wordy sections, such as volunteer experience, and the one on the right gives you a lot of space to give proper exposure to your achievements on a CV.

Free Infographic CV Template

Another one from Canva.

This free infographic CV template is one of many Canva has to offer.

It’s great for all sorts of creative CVs.

But beware.

Of all kinds of CVs, infographic CVs are sure to fail any ATS scan (here is a list of  ATS-friendly CV templates). Especially, if you export them to image file formats (e.g. JPG or PNG).

If you like this free infographic CV template, you can find it here.

Expert Hint: Including hobbies and interests on a CV may be a good idea. Our guide will tell you how to get this section right.

So—

How to find free CV templates on Canva?

All you have to do is go to canva.com, click Browse and select CV in the Templates section:

Here are some more examples of what free CV templates you can find in Canva:

CV Template Examples—Free Canva Designs

To start editing a CV template on Canva, you need to sign up for a free account. And once you do, you can browse free CV templates from within Canva’s web app:

To identify which CV template is free, look for the Free badge in the bottom right corner of a template when you hover the mouse pointer over it.

When you’re done editing, you can download your CV as a PDF file.

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4. Free CV Templates for Download on Good-CV.com

Good-CV.com is a treasure trove of free CV templates.

What you get here is a tonne of beautifully designed CVs for each and every walk of life.

The pros?

Access to a huge library of quality free CV templates.

The cons?

You may need additional software packages to edit the files. For example, some CV templates are only available as PSD or INDD file formats which require Adobe Photoshop or InDesign to open.

Below are several examples of free CV templates you can find on good-CV.com

Contemporary CV Template—Free Download

This free CV template is available in dark and light versions.

Because of its non-standard layout and design, it’s recommended for more creative and artistic positions.

You can download this free CV template here.